News Analysis India

Tag: Nathuram Godse

  • BJP has nothing to do with Nathuram Godse: Gujarat Minister Purnesh Modi

    By PTI

    GANDHINAGAR: The BJP or the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has nothing to do with Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse, Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi asserted in the legislative Assembly on Tuesday, seeking to rebutt Congress accusations that they had a soft corner for Godse.

    The minister’s assertion came in the backdrop of constant accusations from the opposition Congress that the ruling BJP was soft on Godse.

    Earlier in the House, senior Congress MLAs Punja Vansh and Shailesh Parmar criticised the BJP over several issues and cited some recent incidents, which they claimed, showed that Mahatma Gandhi’s killer is being given importance in Gujarat under the saffron party’s rule.

    Accusing the central Congress leadership of creating a false narrative of “saffron terrorism” (Bhagwa Aatankwad), Modi said the RSS creates patriots and instills a sense of patriotism among citizens.

    “I want to make it clear that the BJP has nothing to do with Godse. The RSS was banned thrice in the past. First, when Godse assassinated Mahatma Gandhi (in 1948), then during the Emergency (1975-77) and lastly in 1992 after the demolition of Babri Masjid. But, the ban was lifted on all the three occasions because the government of the day realised that the RSS works for the society,” said the minister, who handles the Road and Building portfolio.

    He said the BJP does not believe in politics of appeasement.

    “The RSS creates patriots and instills a sense of patriotism among citizens. It was Congress which had conspired to create a false narrative of saffron terrorism. Unlike the Congress, which failed to nab accused in terror cases in the past, the Narendra Modi government did not hesitate to conduct a surgical strike (across the LoC) because the BJP does not believe in appeasement politics,” said the minister in the House.

    Taking part in the discussion, Vansh and Parmar (Congress) slammed the BJP and its government over certain incidents related to Godse.

    They referred to a recent incident wherein an elocution competition with “My Role Model – Nathuram Godse” as one of the topics was organised for school students in Valsad by the district office of the state youth services and cultural activities department of the Gujarat government.

    Later, the state government suspended the officer who had finalized the subjects for the elocution competition.

    In November last year, members of the Hindu Sena, a right-wing outfit, had installed a bust of Godse in Jamnagar.

    Later, Jamnagar city Congress leaders demolished it.

    “The BJP has double standards. While it talks about Mahatma Gandhi, it fails to act against those who put up Godse’s bust. Instead, action was taken against those who destroyed it. I demand that the government take stern action against those who indulge in such acts of eulogizing Godse,” said Vansh, speaking on the motion of thanks to Governor Acharya Devvrat for his address to the Assembly.

    Parmar also slammed the BJP government over the issue of past terror attacks, seeking to know why the State Intelligence Bureau failed to collect prior inputs about these strikes.

    “Where was the state IB when innocent citizens were killed in the 2008 serial bomb blasts in Ahmedabad, the Akshardham terror attack and the Godhra train carnage? All these raised questions about how the IB had failed to give inputs to the government,” said Parmar.

  • Amid hijab row, now uproar over ‘Godse a role model’ competition at Gujarat school

    Express News Service

    AHMEDABAD:  A private school in Gujarat is in the eye of the storm after it conducted an oratory competition on the topic ‘My role model – Nathuram Godse’. 

    The competition was held as part of a district-level talent search (Bal Pratibha Shodh Spardha) under the youth service and cultural activities department of Gujarat government, at a self-financing school, Kusum Vidyalaya. Children, aged between 8 and 12 years, from 25 government and private schools in Valsad district participated in the competition. 

    School authorities had given a choice of three topics to the students: ‘I like only those birds who fly in the sky’, ‘I will become a scientist but will not go to the America’ and ‘My Role Model – Nathuram Godse’.

    Incidentally, the student who chose the topic of Godse and portrayed Mahatma Gandhi’s killer as a hero was declared the winner.

    After the incident created uproar, the Gujarat government suspended District Youth Development Officer Mita Gavli and launched an inquiry. 

    Minister of State for Sports, Youth and Cultural Activities, Harsh Saghavi, assured “action against the guilty”.

    District Primary Education Officer BD Baraiya said, “We were not aware of such an event organised at Kusum Vidyalay, as it was planned and implemented by district yuva vikas office.”

    Archana Desai, administrator of the school, passed the buck on the state government.

    “The entire planning of the competition was done by the district education office and the selection of topics was also done by government officials,” she said. 

    Terming the matter as “shameful”, Gujarat Congress working president Hardik Patel said, “It is unfortunate that government officials are trying to drive the BJP agenda in the state. This is Gandhi’s Gujarat and yet someone came forward to organise a competition on ‘My Idol Nathuram Godse’.”

  • Kolhe has right to choose his roles, says Nana Patekar, recalls his own portrayal of Nathuram

    By PTI

    PUNE: Actor Nana Patekar on Saturday defended NCP MP Amol Kolhe who is facing flak for playing Nathuram Godse in an upcoming film, saying an artiste has the right to choose a role.

    He himself had essayed the role of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin in a TV series many years ago, he reminisced.

    “Kolhe did that role when he was in another party, and (NCP chief) Sharad Pawar has said this earlier. Not many people know this, but I had played Nathuram Godse around 30 years ago in (British TV series) “Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy”,” Patekar told reporters here.

    “Does it mean that I support the (character’s) thoughts? I am an artiste, and got the role. It’s an artiste’s choice. When one supports that character’s ideology, then questions can be asked, but for an artiste, it is his bread and butter,” he added.

    In the film “Why I Killed Gandhi”, directed by Ashok Tyagi, Kolhe, an actor-politician, will be seen as Gandhi’s assassin.

    The film was shot in 2017.

    Kolhe, who started his political innings with the Shiv Sena, joined the NCP in 2019.

  • I believe in Gandhian thoughts, played Nathuram Godse’s role to challenge myself as an actor: NCP MP Amol Kolhe

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Actor and NCP MP Amol Kolhe, facing flak in certain quarters for portrayal of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse in an upcoming Hindi film, has asserted he is a “firm believer” in Gandhian thoughts and maintained he took up the controversial role only to challenge himself as an artiste.

    Kolhe, facing criticism from a senior party colleague and also political opponents over the role, clarified that he does not support the ideology of Godse.

    However, NCP president Sharad Pawar has come out in support of the actor.

    In the film, “Why I Killed Gandhi”, directed by Ashok Tyagi and produced by Kalyani Singh, the 41-year-old actor-politician will be seen as Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin.

    The movie was shot in 2017, but is slated to release on January 30 – the day Gandhi was assassinated on the same date in 1948 – on an OTT platform.

    Controversy over the actor’s role has kicked off a month after the trailer of the movie was dropped online.

    In the trailer lasting 2 minutes and 20 seconds, Kolhe, known for playing the role of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his son Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj in two separate Marathi TV serials, is seen expressing his angst against Gandhi, whom he holds responsible for the atrocities on Hindus in Pakistan.

    In an interview to PTI, Kolhe spoke at length about how he was initially hesitant to play the role of Godse, the key reason to pick up this part, and how he feels fortunate to have a considerate party leader like Sharad Pawar.

    “I had done roles in Marathi movie and television, when the offer (for ‘Why I Killed Gandhi’) came, I was initially excited that I am playing a role in a Hindi film. But when I came to know about the role (of Godse), I told them (makers) it is against my personal ideology,” Kolhe said.

    “But as an actor, many times you play roles which are not congruent with your ideology and still you play that role. I was told that this role is all about the confession that Nathuram Godse gave in the inquiry commission held by Justice J L Kapur. I said I will be doing this role as an actor,” he added.

    Citing an example of Russian theatre legend Konstantin Stanislavski, the actor-politician said, this method of acting is difficult, especially when you don’t believe in the ideology of the character and yet you portray it with conviction.

    This is a “difficult task” to do as an actor, Kolhe said, adding, “It becomes a different kind of a challenge. It is a challenging task as I don’t believe in the ideology and yet I had to portray the role. As a challenge to an actor, I picked up the role. Once the camera starts rolling, you have to put it aside.”

    However, Kolhe insists that as a person, he is a “firm believer in Gandhian thoughts”.

    “I follow the ideology that none of the killing can be justified, you cannot justify a murder and my ideology remains the same. I personally feel it (assassination of Gandhi) is one of the most unfortunate incidents in Indian history and a murder can never be justified,” he said.

    Speaking of his process of getting into the skin of a character, Kolhe said that as a performer, it is essential to understand the psychological graph of the role.

    “When you play characters like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, the process is very simple. I go by the psychological graph of the character.

    “Once you get hold of the psychological graph, the body language, speech, diction and other things automatically follow. And in the same fashion, I went ahead with the role (of Godse),” he explained.

    The MP from the Shirur Lok Sabha constituency in Pune district said that when he acted in the film way back in 2017, in his wildest dream, he had not thought of joining the NCP and contesting the parliamentary elections (in 2019).

    However, Kolhe does admit that the thought of inviting “conflict and criticism” did come to his mind and that there can be some controversy over his role as Godse.

    But he thinks, “Personal ideology and professional commitment are two different things and one needs to differentiate between the two.”

    “One thing is very clear: the party has nothing to do with this film simply because I did the film in 2017 when I was not associated with it,” Kolhe asserted.

    “The party should not be dragged into this controversy, is my earnest request,” he said.

    The actor-MP said he has huge respect for his party leader Sharad Pawar and feels fortunate that he has stood by him.

    “The freedom for artistes and personal ideology are two separate things and this has been shown by Pawar sahab for a long time. And the same stand he took that whatever Amol Kolhe has done is in the capacity of an artiste.

    “He has shown trust in my ideology. And I am very thankful. After hearing his reaction, I feel fortunate to work under his leadership, that is so considerate,” Kolhe added.

    On a concluding note, Kolhe said, now that he shoulders a responsibility of a Lok Sabha constituency and his party’s ideology too, as an actor he will consider the ideology of the party and choose roles more wisely.

    Kolhe’s portrayal of Godse on the silver screen has not gone down well with some in the NCP.

    While NCP leader and Maharashtra minister Jitendra Awhad has targeted Kolhe over the issue, the opposition BJP sought to know the actor-turned-MP’s “exact stand on Godse”.

    Awhad has said that even if Kolhe had played Godse in his capacity as an actor, “It is indeed an endorsement of Godse’s views”.

    Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil said Kolhe should clarify his “exact stand on Godse and his views”.

    However, Pawar has backed the actor-politician.

    “Dr Amol Kolhe’s decision to act in that movie should be seen as an artiste’s choice.

    If he played that role, it does not mean he subscribes to Godse’s ideology or views,” Pawar said.

    “If someone plays the role of Aurangzeb in a film, it should not be seen as the actor becoming a supporter of the Mughals…Ravan abducted Sita (in the Ramayana), does it imply that the actor playing Ravan actually kidnapped her?” the NCP president added.

  • Hindu seer Kalicharan Maharaj denied bail for praising Godse, finds support from right-wing group

    Express News Service

    RAIPUR/CHANDIGARH: A court in Raipur on Friday rejected the bail petition filed by lawyers of Hindu seer Kalicharan Maharaj, who will be in judicial custody till January 13. He found some support nonetheless, with a Hindu group in Gurugram taking out a march demanding his release.

    Kalicharan was arrested for making derogatory remarks against Mahatma Gandhi and praising his assassin Nathuram Godse at a Dharam Sansad in Raipur on December 26.

    The bail application was moved before the court of judicial magistrate first class, where Judge Chetna Thakur remanded him to judicial custody for two weeks. Further hearing of his case would be held in the sessions court owing to the sedition charge the accused is facing. 

    In Gurugram, a right wing Hindu group led by its leader Kulbhushan Bhardwaj demanded Kalcharan be released and shouted slogans saying “Godse amar rahe (long live Godse)”.

    Members of the group gathered opposite the residence of the Deputy Commissioner and marched towards the Mini Secretariat raising slogans, “Sadhu-aanto ka apman nahi sahega Hindustan (seers should not be insulted).”  

    After reaching the Mini Secretariat, they submitted a memorandum demanding Kalicharan’s release and arrest of AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi for making derogatory remarks against the police. They also said any policeman arresting Owaisi will be rewarded Rs 22 lakh.

    “He had insulted police officials recently at an election rally in Uttar Pradesh. He had said the police should remember that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not always be there (to protect them),” said Bhardwaj.

  • Gujarat Cong seeks action under sedition law against group behind installation of Nathuram Godse’s bust

    By PTI

    AHMEDABAD: The Congress in Gujarat on Wednesday approached the police and demanded that people who installed Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse’s bust in Jamnagar be treated as “anti-nationals” and booked under the sedition law “in the interest of the country’s integrity”.

    A delegation of senior Congress leaders, MLAs and party workers met state Director General of Police (DGP) Ashish Bhatia and submitted a memorandum, which stated that installing the bust of the man who murdered Gandhi was an attempt to attack the country’s integrity and was like an act of terrorism.

    “In the interest of the country’s integrity, request you to take action against people behind this under sedition law,” the memorandum read.

    A group of people from a right-wing outfit Hindu Sena had on Monday installed the bust, which some Congress members demolished on Tuesday.

    Police arrested seven persons from both sides on charges of promoting enmity.

    ALSO READ | Nathuram Godse’s bust installed by right-wing outfit demolished by Cong leaders in Gujarat; seven held

    “It is a matter of shame that such a thing is happening in the Gujarat of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel. Gandhi is celebrated the world over for this non-violence, and dedicated his entire life to fight for the country’s freedom,” Congress leader Bharatsinh Solanki told reporters after meeting the DGP.

    “People who are behind this despicable act of installing the bust of the murderer of Mahatma Gandhi should be booked under sedition law, because this is an anti-national act.

    This is what we have demanded from the DGP,” he said.

    Godse’s bust was installed by members of the Hindu Sena, a right-wing outfit led by Jamnagar-based lawyer Pratik Bhatt, in an open ground of a small temple-cum-ashram on Jamnagar city outskirts, said inspector of Jamnagar ‘A’ division police station, Mahavir Jalu.

    Upon learning about the bust installation, president of Jamnagar city Congress Digubha Jadeja reached the spot along with party colleague Dhaval Nanda and demolished it.

    Based on the complaints submitted by Bhatt and Jadeja, police have lodged cross-complaints under section 153A of the IPC for promoting enmity between different groups.

  • Nathuram Godse’s bust installed by right-wing outfit demolished by Cong leaders in Gujarat; seven held

    By PTI

    JAMNAGAR: A day after members of a right-wing outfit installed a bust of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse in Jamnagar in Gujarat, city Congress leaders demolished it on Tuesday, which led to the arrest of seven persons from both sides on charges of promoting enmity, said police.

    Godse’s bust was installed on Monday in an open ground of a small temple-cum-ashram on the city’s outskirts by members of the Hindu Sena, a right-wing outfit led by Jamnagar-based lawyer Pratik Bhatt, said inspector of Jamnagar ‘A’ division police station, Mahavir Jalu.

    Bhatt is among those arrested, he said.

    ​ALSO READ | MP: Hindu Mahasabha to make Godse’s statue with Ambala jail soil

    “Upon learning about the installation of Godse’s bust, president of Jamnagar city Congress Digubha Jadeja reached the spot along with party colleague Dhaval Nanda and demolished it. Based on complaints submitted by Bhatt and Jadeja, we have lodged cross-complaints under section 153A of the IPC for promoting enmity between different groups,” said Jalu.

    While Bhatt claimed Jadeja and Nanda removed a shawl with Shri Ram printed on it from the bust and threw it away in garbage after breaking the sculpture, Jadeja, in his complaint, claimed the Hindu Sena’s act has hurt sentiments of Gandhians and Congress members.

    ALSO READ | Congress slams those glorifying Godse, says doing so with BJP ‘patronage’

    “People from both sides were booked under section 153A of the IPC. On the complaint of Jadeja, we have arrested Bhatt and four others. On the other side, Jadeja and Nanda were held following a cross-complaint received under the same section,” said Jalu.

    In a statement, the Hindu Sena has claimed since the local administration did not give any favourable response about its demand to install Godse’s bust at a public place in the city, they installed the sculpture in the temple premises “to instill a sense of patriotism among today’s youth”.

    In a video shared by Jadeja, he is seen demolishing the bust, saying it was installed by some “anti-nationals” and he was compelled to dismantle it because “the law” was not doing anything against such people.

  • MP: Hindu Mahasabha to make Godse’s statue with Ambala jail soil

    By PTI

    GWALIOR: The Hindu Mahasabha has said it will make a statue of Nathuram Godse with soil brought from Haryana’s Ambala Central Jail, where the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi was hanged to death in 1949.

    The right-wing organisation’s comments came on Monday when it observed Godse’s death anniversary.

    “The Mahasabha activists last week brought the soil from the Ambala jail, where Godse and Narayan Apte were executed. This soil will be used to make the statues of Godse and Apte and they will be installed at the Mahasabha’s office in Gwalior,” the outfit’s national vice president Dr Jaiveer Bharadwaj told reporters.

    The Mahasabha activists installed the statues of Godse and Apte at ‘Balidhan Dham’ in Meerut (Uttar Pradesh) on Monday, he said.

    “We will construct such Balidan Dham in every state,” he added.

    He further said the Gwalior district administration had seized Godse’s bust (installed at the Mahasabha’s office here) in 2017, but it was not returned so far.

    Bharadwaj also alleged that the Congress was responsible for the country’s partition (in 1947) which resulted in killings of people on a large scale.

    Meanwhile, Gwalior’s Additional Superintendent of Police Satyendra Singh Tomar said there was no public programme of the Hindu Mahasabha here on Monday.

    No statue has been installed so far and the police are keeping an eye on the outfit’s activities, he said.

  • Congress slams those glorifying Godse, says doing so with BJP ‘patronage’

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Congress on Saturday lashed out at those glorifying Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse on the birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation and alleged that this was happening with the “patronage” of the ruling BJP.

    BJP MP Varun Gandhi also slammed those hailing Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Godse, saying they are irresponsibly shaming the country and should be named and shamed publicly.

    He said the “lunatic fringe” must not be allowed to enter the mainstream.

    Congress leader from Gujarat Hardik Patel thanked Varun Gandhi for taking a “morally right and nationalistic stand”, and urged Twitter India as well as Home Minister Amit Shah to take strict action against all those posting in favour of the “killers of Gandhi”.

    “Any such heinous trends must immediately be banned, accounts blocked and FIR be filed against those tweeting in favour of Godse,” Patel said.

    Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said the forces who opposed Gandhi and all that he stood for were the ones who killed him.

    “Those forces are now in power and are trying to kill all that Gandhi stood, struggled, lived and died for,” he said.

    Khera also said that “masks have always played the most important role in the dubious history of the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) — they conceal the real face of the Sangh”.

    While paying lip service to Bapu, the supporters are encouraged to legitimise Godse, he added.

    Another Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said on a day when the whole world is hailing Mahatma Gandhi and remembering him, it is unfortunate that followers of Godse are hailing him on social media in India.

    She said she was not at all surprised at the development as it is “the result of that hatred that is being nurtured.

    “On Gandhi Jayanti, Godse is being hailed in India, this is the result of the seeds of hatred that the government and its representatives are sowing,” she alleged.

    Youth Congress chief Srinivas B V said as an Indian he is ashamed that with the “patronage” of a “Godsewadi” government, the slogan of “terrorist Nathuram Godse Zindabad” was being raised on the birth anniversary of the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi”.

    “Mr Prime Minister, stop these double standards, Gandhi on lips, but Godse in heart,” he said.

    In a tweet, the Congress, on its official Twitter handle, said, “If Bapu were alive today he would not recognise the India he gave his life for.”

    It also used a hashtag in Hindi which stated ‘Gandhi is not only the past but also the future’.

    The comments came amid “Nathuram Godse Zindabad” (long live Nathuram Godse) being among the top Twitter trends on the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi.

    Twitter trends, however, do not necessarily reflect the real public discourse as many experts believe there could be paid tweets, algorithm-based automated posts and other factors at play to push a particular subject among the top-trending topics on social media platforms.

    A section of right wingers have often posted comments eulogising the man, who shot dead Mahatma Gandhi on January 30, 1948, especially on the days linked to India’s most famous freedom fighter.

    BJP MP Varun Gandhi also said India has always been a spiritual superpower, but it is the Mahatma who articulated “our nation’s spiritual underpinnings through his being and gave us a moral authority that remains our greatest strength even today”.

    “Those tweeting ‘Godse Zindabad’ are irresponsibly shaming the nation,” Varun Gandhi, who is not related to Mahatma Gandhi, said.

    “We must not forget the respect that India has internationally is because of Mahatma Gandhi and the ideals that he represented. The people who are tweeting ‘Godse Zindabad’ should be named and shamed publicly. The lunatic fringe must not be allowed to enter the mainstream,” he said.

  • Nathuram ​Godse’s photograph garlanded at Hindu Mahasabha event on Gandhi Jayanti

    By PTI

    GWALIOR: Photographs of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassins Nathuram Godse and Narayan Apte were garlanded at a seminar organized by the local unit of the Hindu Mahasabha here on Saturday.

    Speaking to reporters after the event held on Gandhi’s 152nd birth anniversary, a leader of the right-wing organization also blamed him for Partition.

    “We have nothing to do with Gandhi, but Gandhi and Mohammad Ali Jinnah were responsible for the partition of the country,” Hindu Mahasabha national vice president Jaiveer Bharadwaj said.

    “Partition led to the biggest genocide and more than 10 lakh Hindus were killed and another 50 lakh displaced. That is why Nathuram Godse and Narayan Apte had resolved to kill Gandhi and Jinnah,” he said.

    While they assassinated Gandhi, they could reach Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, he said.

    The seminar on “Gandhi, and Hutatma (martyrs) Godse and Apte” was held at the Mahasabha’s office in Daulatganj area here.

    Photographs of Godse and Apte were garlanded and some workers shouted “Pandit Nathuram Godse and Narayan Apte Amar Rahe (Long live Pandit Nathuram Godse and Narayan Apte).”

    In January this year, the Mahasabha had opened a study centre on Godse at its office here but closed it two days later following intervention by the district administration.

    In 2017, the Mahasabha had installed Godse’s bust at the office which was seized by the district administration.